COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Wisconsin turns to former coach for the Rose Bowl

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez speaks at a news conference Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Madison, Wis. Alvarez announced that he will coach the team in this year's Rose Bowl, replacing former football coach Bret Bielema who took a job as head coach at Arkansas. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

MADISON, Wis. — When Wisconsin linebacker Mike Taylor was a kid, he used to watch the Badgers and dream of playing for Barry Alvarez.

He’s finally getting his wish.

The Badgers are going retro for the Rose Bowl, talking Alvarez — their former football coach-turned athletic director — into returning to the sidelines on New Year’s Day against Stanford after Bret Bielema bolted for Arkansas this week.

“It’s the best thing that could happen,” Taylor said Thursday after Alvarez’s return was announced. “He’s familiar with what we do and he built this program. That’s why kids like me come here.”

Advertisement

But this is a one-night-only gig, Alvarez insisted. He’s already looking for a replacement for Bret Bielema, and plans to begin interviewing candidates next week.

“No one likes change, but you can grow through change and there’s opportunity through change,” Alvarez said. “I want the seniors to go out the right way, and I want the young players to understand that I will put a coach in place that they’ll be pleased with.”

It won’t, however, be Paul Chryst.

The first-year Pitt coach was considered the favorite to replace Bielema, a former Badgers offensive coordinator who is from the area, has many ties here and remains a popular figure at Wisconsin. Alvarez pulled some strings to help get Chryst the Panthers job last year, and said it wouldn’t be “appropriate” for him to hire Chryst back such a short time later.

Chryst says he is committed to the Panthers, who are preparing for the BBVA Compass Bowl on Jan. 5.

“I think he should be committed to Pitt,” Alvarez said. “I wouldn’t think it would be right for him to leave after one year. I wouldn’t feel right, and I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to hire him back after I asked someone to do me a favor and help him get that job. So Paul’s going to stay at Pitt.”

But there is no shortage of interest in the job, Alvarez said. His phone was “blowing up” as soon as word spread that Bielema was leaving, and Alvarez said he’s already talked to a few potential candidates. He will not use a search firm, joking that “most search committees use me.”

A current head coach is his preference, though Alvarez would not rule out hiring an assistant. Wisconsin ties are not required, but Alvarez said the new coach needs to be familiar with the program and its history.

“I think anyone that’s competitive understands this is a good job,” Alvarez said. “They’re not going to worry about my legacy or what Bret left behind or anything else. They know this is a good job and they can come in here and continue to win. We’ve got new facilities coming. This is a pretty special place.”

And Alvarez is largely to thank for that.

Wisconsin was little more than a Big Ten bottom feeder when Alvarez arrived in 1990. The Badgers had all of six winning seasons from 1963-89, and went 19 years without another bowl appearance after losing to USC in the 1963 Rose Bowl. They were such a sorry bunch that the Wisconsin band’s postgame show was the main attraction at Camp Randall, with students rarely bothering to show up until halftime or later.

But Alvarez came with stingy defense, a power running game and a massive offense line — “those big palookas up front,” he said Thursday — that would soon become the standard in both college and the pros. The Badgers had a Big Ten-record 10 straight seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher under Alvarez, and Ron Dayne became the school’s second Heisman Trophy winner in 1999.

Four years after taking over, Alvarez led the Badgers to a 10-1-1 record, a No. 4 ranking and the 1994 Rose Bowl. Wisconsin has had only two losing seasons since then.

Alvarez’s 118-73-4 record in 16 seasons includes a 3-0 mark in the Rose Bowl — Wisconsin’s only victories in eight trips to Pasadena. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2009.

“It’s a special place,” Alvarez said. “I love the atmosphere. I love the week leading up to it. There isn’t anything that I enjoy more. With this being our third (straight) appearance and the Hall of Fame, this is my fourth year in a row and I love it. It doesn’t get a bit old to me. I will enjoy every second of it.”

As will the Badgers.

Bielema’s departure was a shock, coming just three days after Wisconsin earned a school-record third straight trip to the Rose Bowl with a 70-31 rout of Nebraska in the Big Ten championship. The coach even told players at a Monday night meeting not to believe rumors he was going somewhere, quarterback Curt Phillips said.

Once Bielema left, there was no question who the Badgers wanted as their interim coach.

“Looking forward to being coached by one of the greatest of all time In my last game as a badger! Let’s go get em!” running back Montee Ball said on Twitter.

Alvarez has been something of a coach emeritus the last seven years. Bielema was his hand-picked successor, and he stuck close to the framework Alvarez had established. Alvarez attended most practices, and often helped to woo recruits.

So for him to step back in for the Rose Bowl will mean very little change for the Badgers. Alvarez said he will oversee practices and manage the game, allowing the coordinators to focus on game planning against the Cardinal.

The assistants have told players they are committed to Wisconsin through the Rose Bowl.

“I think this is probably the best,” Alvarez said. “I felt this was the best way to go about it and give the players the best opportunity” to win.

And, make no mistake, the Badgers intend to keep Alvarez’s perfect Rose Bowl record intact.

More than a few people have said the Badgers have no business being in the Rose Bowl at 8-5. Wisconsin actually finished third in the Big Ten’s Leaders Division, but Ohio State and Penn State are ineligible for the postseason because of NCAA sanctions.

But Alvarez said Wisconsin has nothing to apologize for.

“I told (the players) I would be honored to coach them,” Alvarez said. “But I wanted them to understand, if I was going to coach them, we weren’t going to screw around. We were going to go out there to win.”

Strong staying at Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Charlie Strong’s decision to stay at Louisville is the second major coup for the Cardinals in eight days.

After reports linking Strong to several openings in the Southeastern Conference, he said Thursday that he wasn’t going anywhere. Keeping the coach had become a priority for Louisville after announcing last week it will join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014.

“I knew this would be a big opportunity,” Strong said during a press conference at the Cardinals’ football stadium. “It was the best decision to stay here, continue to build a program and fulfill our dreams on the football field and in the classroom.”

Strong turned down an offer from Tennessee on Tuesday night to replace Derek Dooley, who was fired on Nov. 18. Strong had been in discussions with the Volunteers since last Thursday but did not provide any details of their offer.

Now that Louisville knows Strong is staying, athletic director Tom Jurich said they will begin re-negotiating the seven-year contract Strong received last year that currently pays him $2.3 million per season.

Jurich said Strong didn’t use the Tennessee offer as leverage for a new deal and that they only began taking about it an hour before Thursday’s press conference. Nonetheless, Jurich wants to work out a deal that will keep Strong at Louisville eight more years beyond this season and increase the salary of his assistant coaches.

Jurich admitted he has been a bit nervous these last few days. After Louisville announced its ACC plans, Jurich vowed to beat any offer made to his coach. But he didn’t know for sure what Strong would do.

The AD said Strong’s choice to remain with the Cardinals “says that we’re committed. But we’ve always been committed. Everybody always looks at us as a longshot, but we’re not an underdog. I’m probably biased, but I truly believe that as of 7:40 last Wednesday morning when (ACC President) John Swofford called, this is a top-10 job in the country in football.”

At Louisville Strong became a coveted asset and his stock rose with the Cardinals’ success.

Under Strong, the No. 22 Cardinals (10-2) won a share of the Big East Conference championship again this season and a BCS berth in the Sugar Bowl, where they’ll face Florida. On Thursday he was named as the conference’s coach of the year.

With his services in high demand, Louisville wanted to ensure he would stay — especially after announcing it is leaving the Big East, which is struggling to remain relevant in the constantly changing college football landscape.

“The stability of this program is always going to be solid and they’re going to do everything to make this one of the best programs in the country,” Strong said.

Strong’s decision to stay with the Cardinals ends the flirtation with the SEC, where he spent much of his 29-year coaching career. He was defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer at Florida when the Gators won national championships in 2006 and 2008, the last of four stints in Gainesville beginning in 1983.

The Arkansas native was also considered a solid candidate to coach the Razorbacks before Strong’s name came up in recent weeks for jobs at Auburn and eventually Tennessee, which made a hard push for the 52-year-old.

The lure of returning to the SEC was something Strong couldn’t just dismiss.

He talked with the Volunteers for several days and appeared to be leaning toward heading to Knoxville.

“They made an offer (Tuesday) and I said I’d think about it and talk about it with my family,” Strong said.

But in an environment when coaches are fired with winning records, Louisville’s commitment to Strong last year played a major role in his decision to turn the Vols down. The Cardinals gave him his deal last year when the team was 2-4.

Thursday culminated what has been a whirlwind few days for Strong.

There were reports that linked him to the Auburn job and raised questions about Strong’s future. The Tigers ended up hiring their former offensive coordinator and Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn on Tuesday, a day after Strong was mentioned as Tennessee’s top target.

On Monday, Strong held a bizarre news conference in which he managed to stir up more questions about his future when he didn’t definitively say he would be staying at Louisville. He also criticized the Cardinals’ fan base for their attendance at football games.

But when the dust settled Thursday, Strong decided to stay at the school that gave him his first head coaching job. He is 24-14 in three seasons at Louisville.

“You look at those jobs, but I have a great job here,” Strong said. “I have a great person that I work for, and I think that’s what it comes down to. When you talk to an athletic director it’s more about not only your job, but it’s about your family and caring about your family. When they ask about your daughters, that’s when you know they care more about you as a person.

“It became clear to me that it was best to stay in Louisville,” Strong said. “We haven’t finished the job yet.”

Pitt’s Chryst: Wisconsin talk wasn’t distraction

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst says the talk about him going to Wisconsin didn’t last long enough to be a distraction.

Chryst said Thursday he is committed to the Panthers, who play Mississippi in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Jan. 5.

The former Badgers offensive coordinator was considered a favorite to replace Bret Bielema, who left for Arkansas Tuesday.

Chryst was in Birmingham with Rebels coach Hugh Freeze to promote the bowl. He says the players saw him around and knew he hadn’t gone anywhere.

Chryst says he knows what the players have been through with interim coaches for the past two bowl games. He says it was important to reassure them and prospective recruits

Chryst says “the people that we deal with are the most important as a coach.”